Heartache
by thesadisttensaifuji
Summary: On Bill and Fleur's wedding day, Gabrielle becomes smitten with Charlie and learns a little about unrequited love.


She has been told he is a dragon keeper, so she pictures an unkempt and hulking man full of scars riding on the back of a Hungarian Horntail. Bill is handsome, of course, but the other Weasley siblings look pretty much ordinary to her. The twins are quite charming but nothing special; Ron and Ginny are simply plain. And while she has never met Percy, she is sure her sister would have mentioned if he has a nice face. Charlie, therefore, must be the same – a red-head with freckles without her soon-to-be brother-in-law's striking features.

He arrives at The Burrow the day before the wedding, and Gabrielle decides he looks a little better than she has imagined. His hair is long and his skin is tanned, but his muscles are toned just right for a man of his frame. He has a scar on his right cheek, mirroring Bill's after the werewolf attack. He doesn't have his brother's chiselled face, but he is quite pleasant to the eyes, just like the twins.

He kisses the back of her hand when they are introduced, and for a moment Gabrielle thinks he has fallen under the spell of the Veela, just like everyone else. Ron is the worst of the bunch – within four feet of her he loses himself and stares dreamily until Ginny or Hermione snaps him out of his trance. Fred and George dote on her playfully like a little sister, and even Harry gets affected as well if lets his guard down.

"Monsieur Charlie at your service, mademoiselle," he greets her with a wink, but his pupils do not dilate and his blue eyes remain as clear as ever. His gaze does not linger on her face, either – he chuckles good-naturedly at the twins as they rib him for pulling a smooth move on her: _How romantic of you, dear Charles! How come you're still single, you lover boy?_

He goes to the garden a few minutes later, and the gnomes all perk up at the sight of him. Some of them hug his legs as he reaches for a box of Every Flavour Beans in his back pocket, and Charlie laughs and looks at them all fondly. Gabrielle is miffed – how can he prefer the company of those pests over her beauty? Is it because she is too young?

She tries to capture his attention again after dinner, when stories of his flying prowess are told, but the most that she gets is a pat on the head – how she hates to be treated like a kid! She swears she will have him adoring her in the morning, when she puts makeup on her face and flowers in her hair as she performs bridesmaid duties for her sister. He will not be able to resist.

The following day it is she who finds herself blushing when she sees Charlie standing beside Bill as the best man – freshly cut hair, boyish grin, black tuxedo, polished shoes. He looks stunningly attractive, far from the gruff-looking guy her young mind has conjured. Her heart skips a beat when he smiles at her as she and Ginny march on together, wedding music playing in the background, and she finds herself unable to tear her eyes off him.

He looks admiringly at Fleur as she walks down the aisle, glowing in her gown, but there is not at all a hint of the Veela's influence in his eyes. Gabrielle feels something akin to relief – if someone as beautiful as her sister cannot affect him, then it is understandable that she is unsuccessful in catching his interest. But she is curious all the same – how can this man, a dozen years her senior, feel so far away?

Did he leave his heart in Romania, hidden in the dungeon of the dragons? Or is it roaming free in the wind, like he is on a Quidditch broomstick?

Gabrielle gets her answer at the reception, when she finds him watching a couple on the dance floor. They are an odd pair – the man, much older, appears reluctant to enjoy himself; the woman, young and radiant, seems to be having fun despite her clumsiness. Whoever she is, she must be special – because Charlie's soft gaze rests on her and her alone.

When the song ends, the dragon keeper walks toward the couple and asks, "May I cut in?" The woman looks pleasantly surprised, and then she smiles. "Wotcher, Charlie!"

Gabrielle watches as the two dance to a slow waltz, the woman apologising and laughing as she repeatedly steps on Charlie's toes. He grins in amusement, but the remarkable thing is his eyes – he has lost himself in the presence of the woman in his arms, and it is a force far, far stronger than the magic of a Veela's blood.

The woman twirls, and Gabrielle sees something shiny in her left hand – it catches the light and flickers briefly, before disappearing from view once more. But its image is already seared in her mind, and she is arrested by a sudden urge to cry. She searches Charlie's face, and she notices, for the first time, the sorrow hiding in the upward curve of his lips.


End file.
